Trump suffers another blow as judge orders his business to hand over documents sought by NY AG
A judge in New York ruled this Monday that the Trump Organization must hand over documents that state Attorney General Letitia James subpoenaed for her civil-fraud investigation of the company, the Wall Street Journal reports.
“I hope we are winding down this whole investigation,” New York State Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron said Monday. “One thing all of us can agree on is we want this to end at some point.”
The judge ordered the company to substantially comply by April 15 and fully comply two weeks later. The subpoenas are from early in the investigation regarding materials that included information held on Trump Organization employees’ devices.
“We are in a truly unusual place with these subpoenas that have been outstanding for two years and three months,” Austin Thompson, a lawyer for the attorney general’s office, told the judge.
The Trumps have repeatedly tried to shut down the investigation. James has said she had uncovered "significant evidence" of fraudulent or misleading practices at the Trump Organization.
If James finds evidence of financial misconduct she can sue the Trump Organization for damages but cannot file criminal charges.
The Manhattan district attorney's probe into possible financial crimes and insurance fraud is very similar, however.
In that case, the Trump Organization and its long-serving finance chief, Allen Weisselberg, pleaded not guilty in a New York court to 15 felony fraud and tax evasion charges in July last year.
His trial is due to begin in the middle of this year.
At the heart of the twin investigations are a decade's worth of financial statements that Trump's longtime accountants Mazar's said in February were unreliable.
Mazar's announced it was ending its relationship with Trump in part because of James's findings.
With additional reporting by AFP
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